by Guest » Wed Sep 16, 2009 02:09 am
can someone tell me what happened when an accident occured, and both parties are insured by the same insurance company? can a claim adjuster handles both parties? what do i do when i have 2 claim adjuster in the same insurance company? 1 is assigned to me when I calld, and the other send the letter to me and said that she is my adjuster. what should i do? :(
Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2009 09:34 am Post Subject:
When it is the same carrier for both the parties, would it really be important to authorize release of info? Since both the adjusters are from the same carrier, won't they automatically share info between themselves?
Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 03:43 am Post Subject: Acura Driver hit by minivan
My wife was driving in a drive aisle way in an Acura and was hit by a student in a minivan that was hopping through some parking spaces in a school parking lot. The minivan hit the rear driver's wheel of my wife's Acura. The minivan has AAA full coverage and we (Acura) have AAA liability. AAA has told me that in order to fix the Acura, we have to go through the other party claim adjuster. The other party claim adjuster is not cooperating with us. He says he is still waiting for the young girl to say something about her driving the minivan. It has been almost three weeks and my wife's Acura is still sitting in the street by our house. Their claim adjuster said she has 30 days to respond. After 30 days, I will have to sue them in court in California. How ridiculous is that? What is insurance for?
Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 11:52 am Post Subject:
Their claim adjuster said she has 30 days to respond. After 30 days, I will have to sue them in court in California. How ridiculous is that?
You don't have to wait 30 days to file a suit. You might want to do that now, in Small Claims Court (assuming the damages are less than $7500 total), to get the young lady's attention.
What is insurance for?
Liability insurance protects against the financial aspects of a person's negligence inflicted on third parties. The driver who collided with your wife's vehicle, if found to be at fault, is 100% responsible for the cost of the physical damage, and perhaps including "loss of use". Without insurance, all of that expense would come from her pocketbook. With insurance, some or all of that expense is paid by the insurance company.
Collision insurance, on the other hand, provides similar financial protection from the damage we do to our own vehicles. It is subject to a "deductible" -- the first dollars of each claim that we agree to share from our own pocketbook together with the additional dollars from the insurance company needed to cover the total loss. As has already been stated, it is common for an insurance company to "waive" the deductible when both insureds have coverage from that same company.
However, collision coverage may also be used to cover the damage done to a vehicle by other drivers, as in your situation, if there is a question as to fault or coverage available from the third party. After the fact of its payment for the loss, recovery can be made by a first-party's insurance company, called subrogation, from the third party or its insurance company. This usually includes recovery of the first-party's deductible which is reimbursed to that person.
It has been almost three weeks and my wife's Acura is still sitting in the street by our house. . . . How ridiculous is that?
Nothing is preventing you from taking your vehicle to a repair shop today -- and nothing has prevented you from doing that in the last three weeks. You, on the other hand, have chosen to do nothing in the last three weeks. How ridiculous is that?
Since you also apparently chose not to carry collision coverage (and probably do not carry uninsured motorist coverage either), you will have to wait for the third party's insurance company to determine their insured's liability if you are unwilling to spend your own money to repair the vehicle. The fact that their insured is not being cooperative merely complicates the matter. Their contract with the insured requires the insured to cooperate in the investigation of a claim, and failure to cooperate can result in their insurance being non-renewed -- but it does not avoid coverage for the loss if the insured is found to be liable for your damages.
If you believe the insurance company is not doing all it can to investigate the claim in a timely manner, and long before you sue, you can file a complaint with the CA Dept of Insurance alleging unfair claims practices.
http://www.insurance.ca.gov/contact-us/0200-file-complaint/index.cfm
Taking any kind of legal action prevents the CDI from being fully involved.
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